May 31, 2011

Khaleda Zia will sit with the leaders of its allies

Khaleda Zia
BNP chief Khaleda Zia will sit with the leaders of its allies on Tuesday night.

The meeting was scheduled to be held around 8pm at the party chairperson's Gulshan office, her press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan told reporters on Tuesday.

Leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Oikya Jote and Bangladesh Jatiya Party will attend the meeting.

Earlier, she sat with the party's standing committee members from 6:30pm to 7:10pm.

Committee members Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Moudud Ahmed, R A Gani, Mahbubur Rahman, M K Anwar, A S M Hannan Shah, Rafiqul Islam Mia, Nazrul Islam Khan were present at the meeting.

Earlier in the day, prime minister Sheikh Hasina at a press conference said that there was no chance for retaining the caretaker government system since the top court has abolished it.

BNP has been saying that it would boycott the general election if a caretaker government was not in place to oversee it.


Source : bdnews24.com, May 31, 2011

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BNP will not participate in any election under political govt

Party flag of BNP
Main opposition BNP will not participate in parliamentary election under any political government.

“BNP will not take part in any general election under the Awami League government," said Nazrul Islam Khan, a standing committee member of BNP.

Earlier on the day, BNP claimed that US officials had informed its chairperson that the US is going to postpone sending money to Bangladesh for implementing Millennium Development Goals (MDG) until a respectful resolution of Muhammad Yunus issue.

Maruf Kamal Khan Sohel, BNP chairperson's press secretary, made the claim while addressing a press conference at party chairperson’s Gulshan office.

He said the US officials conveyed the information to Khaleda Zia during her recent visit to the country.

“Congressman Joseph Crowley (the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Bangladesh) also disclosed it before the press there,” Maruf Kamal said.

Terming the BNP chairperson’s recent US visit as highly successful, he claimed it has brought honour for her as well as the whole country.

On an allegation of extortion to raise fund for Khaleda’s UK and US tour, Shamsher Mobin, BNP Vice Chairman and Khaleda’s entourage during the visit, said “This is not true. Expatriate Bangladeshis provided the money.”

The MDGs were set by the United Nations, which also funds various programme to achieve the eight goals – end poverty and hunger, universal education, gender equality, child health, maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability, and global partnership.

According to UN sources, the US makes significant contribution to the UN fund for achieving the MDGs. The USAID may contribute to some similar programmes, which the US government controls. The UN funds are controlled by the UN.

In other words, it is particularly not possible for the US to stop MDG funding for Bangladesh.



Source : The Daily Star, May 31. 2011

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May 30, 2011

Beloved Leaders of Bangladesh People

Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Ziaur Rahman
Ziaur Rahman was born in the village of Bagbari in the Bogra District of the northwest Bangladesh. His father, Mansur Rahman was a chemist working for a government department in Kolkata. Zia's childhood was divided between living in the village and the city. He was later enrolled into the Hare School in Kolkata. With the partition of the British-India in 1947, Mansur Rahman with his family returned to East Bengal, which became part of the new state of Pakistan. The family later moved to Karachi, the federal capital located in Sindh West Pakistan, where Mansur Rahman had been transferred to work for the Government of Pakistan. Zia was enrolled in the Academy School in Karachi.

Begum Khaleda Zia
Politician who served at three times as Prime Minister of Bangladesh. In 1960, she married Ziaur Rahman, at the age of 15, a leader in the fight for the independence of Bangladesh. Her husband became president of Bangladesh in 1977, and after his assassination in 1981 she became politically active. In 1984 she assumed the leadership of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Khaleda Zia is the widow of assassinated President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman, and leads his old party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Khaleda Zia was arrested repeatedly during the dictatorship of Hossain Mohammad Ershad in the 1980s, but in 1991 she led the opposition to victory and became the First woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been elected to five separate parliamentary constituencies in the general elections of 1991, 1996, and 2001, a feat unachieved by any other politician in Bangladeshi history.

Tareq Rahman
Tarique Rahman (also spelled as Tarek Rahman) is a Bangladeshi politician. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino, which is less used by the public than the nickname, Coco, of his younger brother Arafat Rahman. He is also popularly known as Tareq Zia, the reminiscent of his father's main name.



Source : Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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May 29, 2011

Begum Khaleda Zia returns home


Khaleda Zia
Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia returned home Sunday afternoon ending a 15-day visit to the US and the UK.

An Emirates flight carrying the former premier landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 5:14pm.

BNP leaders and activists accorded a grand reception to Khaleda at the airport.

Completing the second leg of her tour, she started from John F Kennedy International Airport around 12:00pm on Saturday.

The BNP chairperson was accompanied by her advisers Osman Farroque, Abdul Awal Mintoo, Sabihuddin Ahmed and Vice President of the party Shamser Mobin Chowdhury, journalist Shafik Rehman and some of her personal staff.

Khaleda left for the UK on May 14 and went to the US on May 21.


Source : The Daily Star, May 29, 2011
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May 28, 2011

BNP lawmakers form human chain

Human Chain
On the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban premises BNP policymakers on Saturday formed a human chain demanding declaration of May 30, the day BNP founder Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in 1981, as a public holiday.

Speaking during the programme, which lasted for 30 minutes from 10:00am, the opposition policymakers said that Ziaur Rahman had “proclaimed the country’s independence which has already been recognised at home and abroad.”

Zia was also a sector commander during the country’s Liberation War of 1971, they said.

The BNP policymakers who joined the human chain included Moudud Ahmed, Zainul Abdin Farroque, Jafrul Islam Chowdhury, Barkatullah Bulu, Nazrul Islam Manju, Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie, Joynul Abdin, Mozahar Ali Prodhan, Mostafa Ali, Mezbahuddin Farhad, Golam Mostafa, Nazimuddin Ahmed, Rumana Mahmud, Hasina Ahmed and Nilufar Chowdhury Moni.


Source : The Daily Star, May 28, 2011

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BNP to boycott e-voting: Moudud Ahmed

Moudud Ahmed
A BNP lawmaker has said they will not take part in elections if the government introduces e-voting, as it will be 'a tool of vote rigging'.

"We won't accept e-voting and take part in elections. Elections must be held under the existing voting system," Moudud Ahmed said at a human chain programme at the South Plaza of the parliament building on Saturday morning.

The government plans to introduce e-voting to check irregularities and scope of vote rigging.

BNP members of parliament formed the human chain demanding a public holiday on May 30, the death anniversary of the late president and party founder Ziaur Rahman.

"Ruling Awami League is plotting conspiracies for manipulating vote, because AL will be defeated in the polls," he said adding, "e-voting method is a great tool for manipulation. It is possible to declare someone a loser or winner by using this method."

Moudud also claimed that this method is not followed even in developed countries like the UK, the USA, France and India. "Manipulation is possible through installing a programme in this method. People's verdict does not reflect through this method of polls."

The chequered politician also alleged that the government in collaboration with the Election Commission was trying to introduce the method with ill motive.

The former law minister issued a warning that if the method as introduced, then his party (BNP) would not take part in the polls. "BNP will create a countrywide public opinion in this regard."

Earlier, on Mar 1, election commissioner Muhammad Sakhawat Hussain said that the commission had decided to go for e-voting in every constituency or to the extent possible in the next general election to ensure free and fair polls.

As a preliminary step, BUET and BMTF had been asked to assess the feasibility of the project, he said.

The Election Commission conducted a trial run of e-voting in one ward of Chittagong City Corporation mayoral election on Jun 17, 2009. BNP-backed mayor candidate Manjur Alam won the polls then.

Opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque, Barkat Ullah Bulu, Shahid Uddin Chowdhury and other BNP leaders also took part in the human chain programme.


Source : bdnews24.com, May 28, 2011

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May 27, 2011

Robert O Blake tells Khaleda Zia about his concerning as to Muhammad Yusus

Khaleda Zia and Robert O Blake
Robert O Blake US assistant secretary of state has told BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia that he is concerned about the process through which Muhammad Yunus was removed from Grameen Bank as its managing director.

Blake met Khaleda, who is in the US now, at her hotel suit in Washington at 4:30pm (local time) on Thursday, her press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan told bdnews24.com.

He said they also discussed the state of Bangladesh's democracy, human rights, judiciary and several other issues.

Khan said Blake expressed his concern that Grameen Bank's microcredit programme might face obstructions due to the removal of Nobel Peace laureate Yunus from the bank.

Quoting Khaleda as saying at the meeting, Khan said, "Professor Yunus is an honourable personality. People of the country think that he was denied justice due to favouritism in the judiciary."

Bangladesh Bank on Mar 2 sacked Yunus, who in 2006 became the first ever Bangladeshi to win a Nobel prize, from the post of managing director of Grameen Bank for his 'unauthorised' reappointment in 1999.

It said Yunus, 71, stayed at the helm of the bank beyond the limits permitted under the laws of the land that govern banking that require a chief executive to retire at 60.

He had been carrying on as the managing director since its foundation three decades back.

Yunus lost the legal battle as he appealed against the central bank decision which sparked criticism from home and abroad.

Main opposition BNP has also been criticising the decision.

About the relation between the two countries, Khaleda told Blake that it should be developed without third-party help.

Her advisor Osman Faruque and vice-president of the party Shamser Mobin Chowdhury were also present on the occasion.

Khaleda also met Tony Blinken, advisor for national security policy for US vice-president Joe Biden.

They discussed the issue of tackling terrorism and other bilateral issues, he said.

Khaleda informed him of her party's plan on various issues, he added.


Source : bdnews24.com, May 27, 2011

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May 26, 2011

BNP sees a constitutional crisis

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir
The opposition has accused the government of creating a 'constitutional crisis' in the country.
BNP's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Thursday the government has done so mainly by 'making the judiciary partisan'.

Addressing a programme at the party's Naya Paltan head office, he said, "No one seems to know whether we are following the 1972 constitution or the BKSAL rule, which was legalised through the Fourth Amendment [to the constitution]."

Fakhrul made the comments at the programme where a number of leaders and activists from other parties joined BNP.

He said, "The government was pushing the economy towards a critical point. This programme itself proves how helpless the ruling coterie has become."

Over 500 activists of Basail Upazila in Tangail led by former Sakhipur municipal mayor Sanwar Hossain Sazib, also Krishak Sramik Janata League leader, former Awami League general secretary Abdul Gafur and former municipal councillor Asaduzzaman Milton joined the BNP.

Citing people's suffering over the inflation, Fakhrul said, "People are spending their days in the dark. The prices of basic commodities have gone out of reach of the general people. Yet the government does not seem to care."

The failure of the government has ruined everything including the administration and economy, he alleged.

BNP chairperson's advisor and Tangail BNP unit president Ahmed Azam Khan presided over the programme while joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, and other local leaders from Tangail also attended the programme.


Source : bdnews24.com

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Begum Khaleda Zia meets US Congressmen

Khaleda Zia
When they met with visiting BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday US Congressmen expressed deep concern over the human rights situation in Bangladesh as well as that of the judiciary.

Khaleda Zia had a joint meeting with four US congressmen -- Joseph Crowley, Sheila Jackson, Hansen Clarke and Brad Sherman.

A representative of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was present during the meeting.

Different issues, including democracy and rule of law in Bangladesh, came up for discussion in the meeting that lasted for one and half hours.

BNP vice-chairman Shamser Mobin Chowdhury, who was present in the meeting, told UNB over phone that the Congressmen said if democracy and rule of law are threatened in Bangladesh, the US Congress will take a serious note of this as it might make uncertain Bangladesh’s access to the US Millennium Challenge Account.

The US Congressmen told Khaleda that they are monitoring the evolving situation in Bangladesh and would brief the US administration.

They recalled good relation of the Congress and the US administration with the past government of Khaleda Zia and hoped the relation would be strengthened.

Khaleda invited the Congressmen to visit Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed regret as she could not meet with Khaleda due to her preoccupations.

Hillary Clinton conveyed the regret through her younger brother Tony Rodham to Khaleda at her Hotel Marriot suite in Washington on Wednesday.

Senator John Kerry also expressed his regret for not being able to meet with Khaleda and conveyed this through a special aide.


Source : The Daily Star, May 26, 2011

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May 25, 2011

'Govt plotting to put BNP men in jail'

Zainul Abdin Farroque
Dhaka, May 25—BNP has alleged that the government is 'conspiring' to revive cases against 138 party leaders filed during the previous military-backed caretaker government.

"We've come to know that the government has started hatching conspiracy to revive the cases filed against 138 BNP leaders by the Fakhruddin-Moeen Uddin government," party chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque said on Wednesday.

From a discussion at the National Press Club, he threatened that the conspiracy would not be successful as "millions of party supporters will remain free even if the 138 leaders are put in jail".

Farroque said their demand for mid-term polls would be realised through vigorous movement if the government did not give it willingly.

He also accused the ruling party of making parliament ineffective, where "we're barred to speak".

The opposition leader also criticised the government as well as retired chief justice A B M Khairul Haque for making the judiciary 'partisan'.

The discussion organised by Bangladesh National Awami Party, was chaired by its chairman Jebel Rahman Ghoni. Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP-Matin) secretary general Abu Naser Mohammad Rahmatullah also spoke, among others, on the programme.


Source : bdnews24.com, May 25, 2011

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